Persona 4 - Golden
by builderkid107
Summary: DESCRIPTION COMING SOON


**4/11**

A gravel road crunching under the tires.

"Ah... It seems we have a guest with an intriuinging destiny..."

The low droning of the car's engine.

"My name is Igor... I am delighted to make your acquantince.

The soft sound of classical music played through an unknown speaker.

"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter... It is a room that only those that are bound by a "contract" may enter..."

The slight scent of alcohol, wofting from the shelf lined with bottles and glasses of different types.

"Now then... why don't you introduce yourself...?"

The woman with silvery hair shifted slightly and produced a paper contract and a quill pen and placed it on the table between the three of us, facing me.

I took the pen and signed.

'Yu Narukami'

I put the pen down and pushed the paper away so the woman could take it.

"Hm...I see... let's take a look at your future, shall we?" Igor stated.

He placed his hand down on the table for a moment and then when he moved it, there was a deck cards beneath it.

"Do you believe in fortune telling?"

He hovered his hand across the table and the cards moved into place.

"Each reading is done with the same cards, yet the result is always different..." he continued

He chuckled for a moment.

"Life itself follows the same principles, doesn't it?"

He brought his hand up again and one of the cards turned over.

"Hm... the Tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent."

"The card indicating the future beyond that is..."

He flipped over another card.

"The Moon, in the upright position."

"This card represents "hesitation" and "mystery"... Very interesting indeed. It seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you."

He hesitated before continuing.

"In the coming days, you will enter into a contract of some sort, after which you will return here. The coming year is a turning point in your destiny... If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost."

"My duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that does not happen."

He waved his hand over the table, and the cards disappeared.

"Ah! I have neglected to introduce my assistant to you."

He looked over at the woman.

"This is Margaret. She is a resident of this place, like myself."

Margaret looked back over to me.

"I am Margaret. I am here to accompany you through your journey."

Igor also turned his head back to me.

"We shall attend to the details another time."

"Until then, farewell..."

"Well, I'm sure that you all know already, but at the end of this month, Narukami will be transferring to another school."

The class was in an uproar.

"Quiet down, class. I'm not finished yet."

_I really should stop thinking about it_, I thought as I looked out the window at the passing countryside.

I checked my phone which had vibrated in my pocket.

"Meet us outside Yasoinaba Station at 4PM" the message read.

"We will arrive at the Yasogami terminal in a few minutes, passengers headed for Inaba city or Yasoinaba station, please go to the other side of the platform." the announcement said.

I gathered up my things and went over to the other train.

I was beginning to doze off while passing through a tunnel when the events in that weird car played back in my head, and I woke with a start.

I glanced back outside and took another look at the Japan countryside.

When I stepped off the train, I looked around.

_There's nothing here_, I thought.

"Hey, over here!" a man's voice said

I walked over to the middle-aged man waving his hand with a little girl to his side.

I reached out and shook his hand.

"Well, you're more handsome in person than in your photo." he said

"Welcome to Inaba. I'm Ryotaro Dojima. I'll be looking after you. Let's see.. I'm your mother's younger brother... and that about sums it up."

"It's nice to meet you." I said

He scratched the back of his head.

"Heh. You probably don't remember, but we've met. I've changed your diapers before, you know."

_That's a bit too much information_, I thought.

He beckoned the little girl to his side.

"This here's my daughter."

He put his hand on her shoulder and looked down at her.

"Come on Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousin."

Her face got all red...

"...hello..."

Then she walked back behind her father.

"What're you so shy for?" he asked with a chuckle.

Nanako furrowed her eyebrows and smacked Dojima on the back.

"Ow, hahaha."

_What a strange family relationship going on here_, I thought.

There was a slight pause.

"Well then... Let's get going, my car's over there."

Dojima and Nanako started walking away when a girl walked close to me and brushed my shoulder.

"...Hey."

She leaned down and picked up the paper on the ground that hadn't been there before.

"You dropped this."

_Is this mine?_

"Thank you." I said

"Whatever. All I did was pick it up."

It was the note you made with Dojima's address on it.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Dojima shouted from the car.

I turned around, taking one last look at the girl and walked to where Dojima was.

We stopped at the gas station on the way to Dojima's house.

"Are you in high school?" the attendent asked

I nodded.

"Does it surprise a city boy to see how little there is out here?"

I shook my head.

"No, not really" I said

"There's so little to do, I'm sure you'll get bored fast. You'll either be hanging out with your friends or doing part-time jobs. Speaking of which, we're actually looking for part-time help right now."

"Give it some thought, why don't you? We don't mind if you're a student."

We shook hands and he went back to filling up the gas tank in the car.

Then there was a sharp pain in my head.

"Did you get carsick?" Nanako asked

"You don't look too good..."

_Oh man, maybe I'm just exhausted from the trip...I do feel a bit dizzy..._, I thought.

Dojima was done with his smoke and he walked up and asked me if I was alright.

"I'm just tired, I guess..." I said

"That's understandable. It must've been a long trip for you. Why not take a walk and get some fresh air, just lemme know when you're ready to go."

I nodded.

I stuck my left thumb into my pocket and started walking around the shopping district.

_Well, there's something here, I guess_, I thought.

_Wait, what's that?!_

It was a glowing blue butterfly, fluttering around in one place.

I took a hard look at it, it didn't seem real.

"Hm...? Have we met before?"

I snapped out of my trance and looked at the girl who had started talking to me.

It was the girl from the Train station.

"What were you doing at the station?" I asked

"The station...? Oh, that one time. ...Nothing. I just went."

She looks down at her feet.

"...I don't have anywhere to go."

She falls silent.

"Well, I'm gonna go." I say

No response from the girl.

I turn around and leave, taking another look at the butterfly and the girl.

Walking down the street, I see a bunch of different shops, a handfull of people and a sibling dispute.

_I wonder if this is as lively as it gets around here..._ I think to myself.

I walk back down the street to Dojima and tell him I'm ready to go.

"All right, let's have a toast."

We all take drinks of our sodas.

"So... Your mom and dad are busy as always... They're working overseas, was it?" Dojima asks

"Yeah, they told me they were going to America" I said

"I know it's only for a year, but getting stuck in a place like this because of your parents... It's rough being a kid."

_Hey, I'm not a kid! I'm 17! _I want to say but "Yeah" is all I can get out.

"Well, it's just me and Nanako here, so it'll be nice having someone like you around. So long as you're here, you're part of the family, so make yourself at home."

"Thank you for your kindness!" I blurt

Dojima chuckles.

"C'mon, there's no need to be so formal, you're making Nanako all tense."

Nanko glares at her father who smiles back.

"Well, anyway... Let's eat."

As soon as Dojima was picking up his chopsticks, his cellphone started ringing.

"Ugh... Who's calling at this hour?"

He stood up and answered it.

"Dojima speaking"

"...uh huh, yeah. Yeah? I see... So where is it?"

"uh huh, alright, I'm on my way."

Dojima muttered to himself about skipping something and turned to Nanako and I.

"Sorry, but I gotta go take care of some business. Go ahead and eat without me. I'm gonna be out pretty late, so can you help Yu get situated?"

"Uh huh" Nanako said, disheartened

Then she reached over and turned on the TV.

"Let's eat" Nanako said.

"So, what does your dad do?" I ask Nanako

"He... investigates stuff. Like crime scenes. He's a detective."

Nanako glances down at my food.

"Aren't you hungry?" she asks

"Oh, yeah I am!" I quickly respond

After a particularly awkward dinner, I decided to go upstairs and go to bed.

I carefully manuever the stacked boxes that my parents shipped here from Tokyo and make my way to the futon near the desk. I search the box nearest to the desk and find my clothes, and some pajamas, which I slip on. Then I plop down on the couch because the bed isn't setup yet.

_So, I'm stuck here for a whole year..._, I think to myself as I fall alseep.

_Huh...where...where am I?_

_I guess the only way is forward..._

"Do you seek the truth...?" a voice says

_Wha-? The truth?_

"If it's the truth you desire, come and find me..."

_That voice is coming from up ahead!_

I jolt up from my sleep.

_What the hell? What was that weird dream, and the truth and the fog and...ah...it was probably nothing. _I think to myself

I lay back down and go back to sleep.


End file.
